Hello there, Apologies if this doesn't fit the sub but I'm quite lost and could do with any sound information/recomndations anyone has!
Looking to travel to Japan with my partner and daughter in August for 2 weeks, I've looked at travel agents, sky scanner, Emirates, abbey travel etc and I'm still a bit lost what's the best option to go with!
My daughter is autistic so the main thing would be that whatever we book is completely reliable regardless of price , now I'm not minted but we've been saving and know this will cost a bit!
From what I can see I can book with Emirates to go from Dublin to Tokyo via Dubai, or do a package through an agent, has anyone ever done a package holiday to Japan ( flights and accom) with abbey/trail/love holiday? If so any good or bad experiences? Are Emirates the best people to fly with from Dublin?
Has anyone done the trip and booked everything seperatley themselves? If so any recommendations for sites/companies to use?
Has anyone done a recent trip to Japan( doesn't matter what airport in Tokyo) with kids ( 10yrs or older) and have any tips on what we should do or avoid?
Basically I've seen you guys guide people in the right direction loads of times and I'm looking for the same 🙏
If this doesn't fit here please remove Cheers
Edit: want to thank you all, you completely understood the assignment and the information you've given is amazing! Thank you honestly , I appreciate each reply!
Through London. 13hr flight from London so plenty of sleeping time
+1 we did BA Dublin-Heathrow-Haneda and it was super straightforward. It does mean the London to Tokyo flight is very lengthy/ cabin feverish which I didn’t mind as it’s less disruptive but depends on whether you think it might be preferable to break up the journey into shorter individual flights.
Cheers I didn't even think about that! so fly to London and then direct to Japan? The Dubai stop over comes in around 20 hours total so big difference
Yep, I find the Middle Eastern connections are either too tight or too long
Any airline from London you recommend?
We did British Airways via London because it gave us the best shot at sleeping unbroken during Japanese night time (flight time chosen for that purpose) so we would feel less jetlag.
I don't actually think they're a good airline normally, but this was perfect for us.
We went BA
Also flew from London and it was the best option!
I did Dublin -> Paris -> Tokyo Haneda with AirFrance. Upgraded to business 2 days before takeoff for €500, well worth it imo.
I was in Japan (work/leisure) for 2 months. Get a sucia card added to phones wallet for trains/metros. Book Shinkansen tickets through the smartex website and add them to your suica card.
Get an e-sim, I recommend Ubigi’s unlimited 5G bundle, it didn’t let me down once. You’ll need Google maps to help navigate the metro and trains.
AirBnb’s are cheaper than hotels in Tokyo. Pack lightly and bring comfortable walking shoes, you’ll likely buy a lot over there.
Every tourist attraction is going to be very busy, even first thing in the morning - best time to go to a lot of them is after lunchtime or later in the evening.
Warning: Digital Suica can only be added to iPhones.
Android phones not made for Japan lack the necessary FeliCa chip to make the digital suica work.
Thanks for this, we have both and we're wondering would we use the iphone more, to be fair the maps on iphone is unreal! Cheers
Also digital suica won’t work for under 16s as you need to be able to use Apple Pay to load up the card.
Thanks so much for that especially the phone and succia info!
Also the attractions - would of thought the opposite so fair play we would deffo do the evenings if it meant less people!
Random question did you find the metro/trains loud ( daughter okay with people once it's not extremely loud) Is business class just more space or would there be less people also ? Like would you sleep better going business in your opinion?
Everyone has the same idea to go to the attractions early, some places get mobbed such as the Senso-ji in Asakusa.
Trains and metros are always quiet - even in rush hour (I don’t recommend going on a train/metro at rush hour it is beyond packed). No one really talks on public transport, you’ll see a lot of people just reading or salarymen asleep!
In business class, everyone gets their own individual pod, that can be transformed into a bed. I thought it was great as I could sleep for a lot of the journey and didn’t feel that tired at all once landing. I flew premium economy home and I also thought it was well worth it, lots of leg room too and the rows were mostly empty.
Ohh okay now the pods would be the business and would definitely make it easier, thanks for all your help!
I appreciate all the info
Travelled last year with two autistic kids (10+). We went with Etihad - overall the flight was comfortable however the first one was delayed so our stopover in Abu Dhabi was very short and meant it was difficult for us to get anything to eat (kids have food aversions so airplane food is a non-runner).
Japan is fantastic and I would highly recommend it, but it does need planning. Many of the main tourist attractions can be oversubscribed and getting tickets for certain things requires being ready on the day they are released. I had more than a few 4am starts trying to grab spots for the likes of the Nintendo museum, Kirby cafe etc.
I wouldn’t recommend using a travel agency - I initially looked at this but found they weren’t really set up for families such as ours. You can do a lot of it yourself. The subreddit r/japantraveltips is really good (although you will find some insane itineraries in it which are totally unworkable).
Happy to share more of our experiences here or via DM.
Thanks so much, yeah I'll throw you a message if that's okay, that's the main two on her list is Nintendo and Kirby cafe so would love to know whatever info you have on that!
No rush on relying , I appreciate it
No problem. I’ll pass on anything useful!
Emirates from Dublin is solid, did that route myself last year and it was pretty smooth. The Dubai layover isn't too bad and they're good with kids generally
For booking separately vs packages - I'd honestly go with booking flights and hotels yourself since you need reliability. You'll have more control if something goes wrong and can pick accommodations that work better for your daughter's needs. Booking.com and the airline direct sites are usually your safest bet
Japan with kids is amazing btw, super accessible and organized which helps a lot when traveling with someone who's autistic
That's deadly to hear thank you, I have an account with booking.com and always found them great when traveling with her, so that's actually great news!
Yeah it's been her dream for a few years and I've heard nothing but good things !
Thanks so much
Look up the Ghibli Museum and Skylabs immersive art
Will do thank you !
Hi, you are getting lots of info about flights, so I won't add any more.
You mentioned your daughter is autistic, how is she with heat? Japan in August will be about 30c. But I swear the humidity is so high, to me it felt hotter than Egypt at 45c .
I've a ten year old girl and am avoiding Japan and south Korea because of this reason. 32c in Italy last year, and she was at her absolute limit.
Cheers for that, yes this is something we've considered and see coming up with ideas to ease it, we looked at July and August as it would have to be then or maybe October over mid term- she wouldnt be comfortable missing school - she's quite strict on her routine and rules !
Cheers I'll add October midterm to the list of dates and see can we work her only missing a few days if this is something that works with what we want to see and do then it' could be a solution!
I appreciate that
Not a problem, the last thing you need is the weather to ruin a holiday of a lifetime.
I went with ethiad in September to Tokyo, if you have specific questions dm me. I didn’t take my kids, it was like a very delayed honey moon/10 year anniversary thing. I can provide as much as possible.
Fair play, thanks so much, yeah if you don't mind I'll throw you a message with a few questions , the more information I have the better for my daughter, doesn't really matter that you didn't take the kids as she's grand travelling once everything is laid out specifically to her and she knows exactly what's happening if you get me!
I'll throw you over a message now, no rush in replying ! Cheers
Japan is absolutely brilliant you will have an amazing time. One thing to say is if you can bring a bag like a foldable rucksack that you can fill with souvenirs from the cheap shops there on your way home. Loads of YouTube videos on best places to visit. Food is amazing, can always get ramen in train stations and we got breakfast in combini shops and late night snacks best part! For the heat as it will be extremely humid drink picori sweat it's an electrolyte drink it really helps.im not sure if you already booked accommodation but we found apa hotels brilliant they are really cheap but just what you need in Japan as rooms are very small anyway they are in great locations too. Use Google maps to get around it's brilliant for helping you with what train to get etc. Starbucks is great over there too if need a break from heat. Just know that the Japanese put something on a table to hold it and then go order in restaurants this took us awhile to get - it can be handy to bring something you plan to leave on tables. I would definitely recommend Disney parks there too they have two separate ones so it's well worth a visit your child may enjoy them. You won't want to travel anywhere else after!
Thanks so much for this, it's amazing especially on the drinks heat side! Fair play, I appreciate it a lot
No worries hope you have an amazing time. Maybe report back how your child gets on id love to bring mine when older.
Definitely will do, this has helped so much!
I’d chat with TrailFinders, have small kids and have booked a couple of trips to Oz with them. Always make sure we have the best route, suitable stop over times etc. also worth noting I was going to book the trips myself and trailfinders worked out cheaper.
On the contrary,we booked a holiday to Thailand through trail finders twice as it worked out cheaper,however when we tried to book a trip to Japan,when they gave us the itinerary and I went to the effort of checking every single thing individually as it seemed expensive,it worked out well over 1k per person more expensive than if we were to book it ourselves. Again,the Thailand trips worked out cheaper but Japan was far more expensive,as brilliant and all as they are,I’d double check everything yourself to make sure you’re not being fleeced.
Cheers will do, yeah I was thinking If they worked out 1k/1.5k dearer overall I would but 3k would be pushing it!
Thank you
Cheers , I've requested some of their brochures, that's good to hear about the price because I've heard they are solid on bookings and times etc so would be nice to have that all covered!
Would I be best just giving them a call and telling them what I'm looking for ? Or going into the shop?
I popped into them and just asked, basically ended up having it half planned in 20min. But either will work tbh, so whichever suits!
Fair play! Thank so much
Just adding that I didn’t find Trailfinders great for my family’s needs. They were slow to come back with information and their hotel selection was not good for families. If there are only 2/3 of you it may be better however (there were five of us).
Their itinerary was also quite adult oriented in terms of the suggested places (a lot of shrines, onsets and ryokans; full day walking tours on day one - a complete non runner with jet lagged kids). In the end we booked flights with them and that was it. They are nice to deal with though - it’s just their offering didn’t meet our requirements.
Cheers for that, I think I'm going to call Into their shop and see what's on offer and then work from that! I get what your saying with the kids - deffo wouldn't work for us either , my one would need a day to just chill !
Thank you
Given what you've said, I'd say the best option is to go through a travel agent. You get extra protection if things change or go wrong. They can rearrange things for you and it's all covered by their insurance. You don't have to stress about things going wrong, because if they do it isn't your job to fix them. It'll all happen in the background.
You can still get the airline to fix anything yourself if you want, but you don't have to. It's an extra layer.
Yeah that's exactly it, the thing is she can deal with changes to the plan and problems but if they are dealt with quickly and we have resolutions quickly, so I don't particularly want to be the one on the phone trying to sort things if there are problems and getting stressed.
My partner is very chill and I would have to deal with it and I don't want any of the trip to be work If you get me, I know it's not all going to go to plan but I don't want the full responsibility for adjustments/changes on my shoulders incase I loose my cool or come up against a problem I can't fix!
This is something I want to be fully present with her for because it's probably a once in a lifetime trip for us!
Cheers I appreciate your help
I've flown with both Japan airlines and ANA to Japan. Both really good airlines if they are a consideration.
How did you manage that? I couldn't book from Dublin, I'd have to have arranged a separate flight Amsterdam, Helsinki or wherever else they depart from...
They weren't direct flights. I always flew through one of the above or somewhere else in Europe. If you book directly with either of the airlines they will give you a booking including all of the flights.
Cheers
Who did you book with ? Any recommendations
Directly with JAL and ANA respectively. Search for flights on Skyscanner, tweak dates, times, layovers etc. Find what you want then book directly.
We flew Dublin Tokyo via Frankfurt with Lufthansa. We've been twice and used them both times. No complaints at all. We were impressed with them.
Cheers, did you book directly with Lufthansa or use like Skyscanner ?
Booked direct with Lufthansa.
Cheers
Just booked this route for June. Was cheapest option on skyscanner and then went directly through their website. Don’t recommend third party websites for buying flights.
Just did Japan for three weeks in October with Emirates and couldn't fault it! We booked everything ourselves with booking.com for hotels. We travelled with our 10 month old so not exactly the age group you're asking about but it's a very easy country to navigate with kids - we personally found anyways!
Thanks for this, that's great to hear, what time in October did you go late or early month ? What was the weather like ? Did you just do normal class with Emirates ?
Thanks again , I really appreciate it
We went like 6th of Oct and left on the 31st. Weather was waaaay warmer than we had expected! Towards end it had started to get chillier but was shorts and tshirt weather for sure. We had the odd rainy day but majority was good. I think they say October is a good month weather wise!
Also yeah so going to Japan we were economy. Because our daughter is a baby we got the bassinet seats with the slightly extra legroom. It's also the double Decker to Tokyo so it's a very big plane. We have travelled a lot and done ong haul with Emirates before and it's always been great. The food is nice and the seats are spacious as can be! We were travelling back home from new Zealand then after Japan and we upgraded at the airport to premium economy, which I have to say was amazing. We wouldn't have done it otherwise but it was cheap and a 17 hour flight lol. Its worth asking, if you potentially can go for that in your budget, but honestly for the flights to Japan you'd be fine just in normal seats!
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I flew with Etihad through Abbey Travel. I highly recommend them, they were excellent and absolutely no problems. Send them an email.
Cheers I appreciate that! Will do
There are no direct flights from Dublin but I’d recommend a flight with KLM or Finnair so you can transfer in Europe - I always found the transfer in Middle East a pain as it’s two long flights as opposed to one short and one long- might just be a personal preference! A few people have mentioned it but I really can’t stress enough that August in Japan is unbearable, and the last couple of years in particular. We were there in late September last year and it was still incredibly uncomfortable out and about during the day. Also keep in mind that Obon is in mid August and it’s one of the big holiday events of Japan so the majority of the country are off work at this time and travelling costs are higher and harder to secure accommodation/ internal travel. That being said, there are some cool festivals at this time of year too, particularly in Kyoto. Do you have any loose ideas of an itinerary or things you want to do or see? If so comment below and I might have some insight!
If London or Paris are hard to get tickets through, the middle eastern airports are insanely fast at transfers. On our flight back from Tokyo, our first leg got delayed and we landed in Dubai to connect with only 35 minutes to get to the next flight. We were there within about 20, which included a bathroom break and a cigarette break. I am still baffled how they managed to turn that around so fast.
Avoid Istanbuls, simply because you wind up taxiing after landing for the guts of an hour.
Im going in June. Klm Dublin to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Tokyo. My daugher has been 3 times with different Airlines and she reckons this is the best way
For the past two trips, we've used Turkish Airlines and done 2 & 3 night stopovers in Istanbul.